Porgy and Bess....the Charleston connection

Catfish "Cabbage" Row, Church Street

  

The setting.......the fictional Catfish Row (based on the real Cabbage Row) in Charleston, SC

The characters.......the African American inhabitants of this poverty-stricken row---Porgy, a crippled man of Catfish Row who makes his way around in a makeshift cart---Bess, the woman who comes into Porgy's life----Crown, the local bully who was once Bess's boyfriend---Sportin' Life, who puts a humorous perspective on an array of near impossible situations---and all the other colorful characters who make their lives and their livelihood on Charleston's Catfish Row.

The music!......"Summertime", "I've Got Plenty of Nuttin'", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "Bess, You Is My Woman Now", "Street Vendors Calls"......and many more!

Catfish Row

 The author.....Dubose Heyward was born in Charleston in 1885, just one year before the great earthquake of 1886. Although he was descended from an illustrious family, (Thomas Heyward, Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence was an ancestor), he grew up in a family of poor means. Heyward's father was killed in a work accident when he was just a boy, leaving he and his mother to manage on their own.  Young Heyward suffered from a range of serious ailments throughout his life (He contracted polio when he was 18) and dropped out of school at the age of 14. He had, however, a lifelong passion for literature and poetry. As an adult, he worked as a pay clerk on the docks until he was able to devote himself to writing full-time. The time Heyward was living and writing in Charleston became known as the Charleston Renaissance. The first half of the twentieth century brought many artists, musicians and writers to Charleston to become a part of this climate of creativity. DuBose Heyward flourished in this atmosphere and, along with his friend, Hervey Allen, helped form the Poetry Society of South Carolina.

       Heyward was exposed to the Gullah culture of Charleston by the African Americans he encountered and especially by his mother who was a great lover of the Gullah songs. She sang in a group which performed Gullah songs and sometimes DuBose joined her. All of these influences worked together to to culminate in his novel Porgy, published in 1925. It was quite a success and Heyward and his wife, Dorothy, wrote a play based on the novel. This led to the collaboration with George Gershwin which produced the American folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess".

DuBose Heyward's home, 76 Church Street

The composer......George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn in 1898. George and his brother, Ira, became a formidable composer and lyricist team. When he came across DuBose Heyward's book, Porgy, Gershwin knew that he had found the vehicle for a folk opera using the jazz and blues sounds he longed to explore. George and Ira Gershwin had created a name for themselves on Broadway with a number of successful productions under their belts, but this was an enormous undertaking for both the Gershwins and the Heywards. George came to Charleston and stayed at a home on Folly Beach to immerse himself in the culture and the atmosphere of Charleston. Ira and DuBose worked together on the lyrics with much of the recitative sections taken directly from the novel. This was the first opera for George Gershwin and, sadly, would be his last. "Porgy and Bess" opened on Broadway 1935 and in only two years, George Gershwin died from a brain tumor. He was only thirty-eight years old.

The Performances....."Porgy and Bess" opened in Boston in 1935 before its Broadway run instead of Charleston because of the issue of racial separation in Charleston. Would black audience members be allowed to sit in the theater next to white theater goers or would they be relegated to the balcony, as was the general practice of the day? Sadly, the white audience could not see past their bias and the show was cancelled in Charleston. Enjoy this clip of "Summertime" from the 1959 movie version: 

Today, "Porgy and Bess" has undergone a revival on Broadway and is thrilling audiences more than 75 years after its original Broadway debut.  This clip of Audra MacDonald, Norm Lewis and the cast members of "Porgy and Bess" is a medley of songs from the current revival. 

"Porgy and Bess" at Footlight Players (performed at historic Dock Street Theatre)
       I hope that this bit of history about this "one-of-a-kind" folk opera has whetted your appetite for more. If so, you are in luck, because the Footlight Players are treating us to their production of "Porgy and Bess" running from August 3rd - August 19th. All performances will be at Dock Street Theatre. Don't miss the opportunity to see this classic opera presented in the city of its origin by actors and musicians who call Charleston home. This production is directed by Henry Clay Middleton. For more information, follow this link to Footlight Players.